My name is Terra Mendoza.  The man in this picture was my husband of 29 years, Alex Mendoza.  Alex's life was cut short on April 17, 2016, at the age of 55.  His health had made it increasingly difficult for him to live with any hope or joy.  He was a sufferer of severe diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and bi-polar disorder that hindered his ability to walk, think clearly or function fully.  Alex's diagnoses of diabetes and bi-polar came after years of tests and failures to identify his debilitating disorders.   Unfortunately, as a consequence there was irreparable damage done to his body, mind and overall quality of life.  The levels of pain Alex endured at times were astronomical.  I have been his caregiver throughout the last decade.  Consequently, Alex's condition  would not allow him to hold down a full time or even a part time job during the last years, therefore, I have also supplied our full income. We have two children together, a son Joey and a daughter Maria, who is expecting her first child, and our first grandchild.  The sudden and yet to be explained death of Alex has shook our family to the core.  We were not ready for this.  We were a family that lived on one income and that only provided enough for us to live from week to week.  There was nothing left over at the end of the month.  We were not able to set aside money for funeral expenses and the unexpected expenses that come with the death of a loved one.  Alex and I have struggled financially for years and this has happened at a time when I am just coming back from pneumonia, where I missed work and lost time.  These donations will enable me to honor my husband in death by laying him to rest.  As of now, I have nothing to spend towards his cremation, his death certificates, setting his debts in order or  even considering a memorial service to honor his life, for his friends and family.  I need these funds as soon as possible.  His death was sudden, however, it took the hospital four days to confirm there was no brain activity, so they kept him on life support until there were no doubts that he was deceased.  During this time I could not plan for a funeral, because there was still a chance he would recover.  Alex is an organ donor and therefore they still have him on life support while they prepare him for his donation.  Upon release of his remains I will need to be prepared to have him brought to the funeral home.  It is very important that I have this set up before they are finished.  Not having the financial capacity to honor my beloved husband of 29 years is breaking my heart and I would be so grateful if my friends and family would help our children and myself to make it through this traumatic time as gently as possible.  To know that I was able to provide this for Alex and bring honor to him in death as he had in life, would be the greatest gift I could give to him.  To say thank you for your gifts would be an understatement for our family.  We could never express what your gifts to Alex would mean.  Thank you for your kindness, we love you.